Yoshida showing off at plate in Classic ... but where does he fit with Sox?

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Masa in the Morning.

No, it isn’t a television show. But it is becoming a morning highlight package.

For the past three days, Red Sox manager Alex Cora has started his work day by watching Masataka Yoshida rake in Tokyo for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic.

Spring Training work days start early for managers, and the games in Tokyo have been starting before the sun is even out in Fort Myers, Fla.

At the Tokyo Dome on Sunday, Yoshida’s two-run homer in the seventh inning against Australia snapped a 1-1 tie that led his team to a 4-3 victory that clinched the top seed in Pool C.

In three games covering 10 at-bats, Yoshida is 5-for-10 with four runs, one double, two homers and six RBIs.

The least surprised person in the United States or Japan by what Yoshida is doing in the Classic? That just might be Cora.

“I don’t know why people are so surprised that he's hitting,” Cora said. “When he was healthy in ‘23 the first half of the season, he was one of the best hitters in the big leagues. He got banged up. We kind of covered it for a while there, and he had injections [for his right shoulder].

“Then, he had the big [right labral repair] [after the ‘24 season]. There were five anchors in there. So for him to bounce back the way he did towards the end of season last year was impressive. And the offseason was a regular one.”

However, what is a little irregular is the situation Yoshida is in for a player heading into the final two years of a five-year, $90-million contract he signed with Boston at the 2022 Winter Meetings.

Boston’s outfield isn’t just crowded with talent. It is overcrowded. And that is why it is currently desolate of regulars at the club’s Spring Training camp. Roman Anthony (Team USA), Jarren Duran (Team Mexico), Ceddanne Rafaela (Team Netherlands), Wilyer Abreu (Team Venezuela) and Yoshida were all selected to play in the International showcase tournament.

When they get back, Cora will start the process of configuring the distribution of playing time. A healthy and thriving Yoshida will make that even more difficult -- but a good kind of difficulty. Cora isn’t going to complain about having too many good hitters.

In a vacuum, Yoshida’s ideal role would be DH. But that will often be a spot for Duran or Anthony. Cora will have to find a way to finagle Yoshida in as a DH and left fielder when he can. He is also an expensive insurance policy should one of the other outfielders get injured.

While Yoshida has the type of short swing that would make him a good fit as a pinch-hitter, he carries a high salary for that to be his primary role.

So how will Cora make the puzzle pieces fit?

“We're about to find out, right? When you hit in this league, you always find ways to play those guys,” Cora said.” The cool thing is that we got good players here, right? And it's up to me to make it work. We will make it work.”

One of Cora’s gifts as a manager is the way he utilizes his entire roster. That will perhaps be put more to the test than ever this season.

At the beginning of Spring Training, the Red Sox hold individual meetings with all players in camp to set expectations. What was Cora’s message to Yoshida?

“The message was, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing, we like who you are. You can hit. You were our best hitter at the end of the season last year’” Cora said. “He proved it. ‘So just have a great WBC, and see you probably March 18 or 19.”’

Masa in the Morning returns for a final episode with Tuesday’s 6 a.m. EDT contest against Czechia.

Team Japan will fly back to the United States and will next be seen in the quarterfinals in Miami on Saturday.

This isn’t Yoshida’s first time dominating in the WBC. In ‘23, he hit .409 with a tournament-leading 13 RBIs as Japan won the Classic with a win over Team USA.

Clearly, the WBC is a stage well-suited for Yoshida.

“He likes it. He likes it here, too,” Cora said. “He's been banged up, he's been hurt, and now that we got the healthy version, it should be fun.”